Are you more concerned with people-pleasing than you are with pleasing God? Do you have an internal desire to keep the people in your life happy with what you do? Do you spend time thinking about what people think of you? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you, like me, are on the journey from people-pleasing to God-pleasing. We all have a need to belong. When people scream I don’t need anyone they’re lying. We all need people in our life to love us and accept us for who we are. With that, though, we have to learn to keep people in their proper place.…
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Just Love
The love we show to others has less to do with them, and more to do with Jesus. Although we’ve been raised in a world that teaches us to love those who love us, we must grow past that. We must be able to just love- regardless of how others may treat us. Following Christ is about living a live of love. Again, the love we show others has nothing to do with them and everything to do with the One we follow: “Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an…
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Just Be
Have you ever been told: You are enough. Life has a way of making us feel like we aren’t enough, like we have to do more and work harder to measure up to some imaginary, ever-changing standard. Books titled 10 Ways to get Rich and 10 Steps to a Better Life become national best-sellers. Why? Because we’re all trying to be something that we feel we’re not. We’re trying to make something happen. We’re trying to be bigger, badder, better. We feel it’s not enough to just be. The world tells us to be assertive, take what’s yours, and be confident cocky to get what you want. If you believe…
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Be an Individual
Before I am anything, I am an individual. Whatever I bring to my marriage, my children, my career, my relationships, and anything else that I’m apart of all starts with me. Sometimes we forget to be an individual, and find ourselves off balance in life. If we pull too close to other people then we’re limiting ourselves to be the best that we can be. I’m not discouraging closeness with others, but it’s important to keep everything and everyone in its proper place. We are social creatures so we do need trusting, healthy relationships; but none should be closer to us than Jesus. Positive role models and mentors can be…
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In Life Everything Serves a Purpose
Being a child of God comes with many, many benefits and assurances. One of them is that everything that happens in our life serves a purpose. Yes, everything serves a purpose. With God, nothing is purposeless, coincidental, or by accident. The God who created the heavens and the earth is not capable of an accident. There is also nothing that has happened to you that He didn’t allow- even the bad, hurtful & shameful things. Everything Serves a Purpose. We must realize that all of our experiences are either God-sent or God-allowed. When we see Him in everything that comes our way, we’re able to respond the right way. …
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Do you talk faith or LIVE by faith?
Do you merely talk faith or do you live by faith? One can understand faith, even discuss it, yet be unable to live it. Why? Living faith requires us to put some action behind our talk. You know the saying: actions speak louder than words. It’s one thing to say it, it’s a totally different thing to live it. Living by faith is not always easy. Actually, as we walk with Christ and grow in Him, living by faith can seem to get harder. Why? Because life is about growth and in order to keep growing we’re faced with obstacles that require us to put more action behind our talk. Following…
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LIFE: Live Strategically
Do you live with a plan? What values drive what you do? Do you have goals? Plans, values, and goals help us to live strategically. We must live our lives similar to running a business. We must make intentional decisions that are all focused on bringing us back the results that we desire. What results do you want to see from your life? If you don’t know what you want your future to look like, then it’s likely that you aren’t making the best decisions today. What you do today shapes your tomorrow. Live strategically. In order to live strategically, we must have an idea of why we’re living. This…
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Live life one step at a time.
Sometimes we overwhelm ourselves by trying to do too much too fast. Even when following the leading of God, we often get ahead of ourselves. He gives us a glimpse and we think we see the whole picture, but we don’t. We must learn to take it one step at a time. Truth is, we don’t even know what tomorrow will bring: “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” – Proverbs 27:1 We all need God to keep us balanced. Some people do no planning for tomorrow, while others try to plan and control too much! Despite where we are…
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Embrace the Changes: Success = Change
It’s hard for so many people to live the life of their dreams because they can’t embrace the changes that come along with it. Success = change. We want that, but we don’t want to let go of this. We need to do that, but we can’t stop doing this. I need friends like that, but all I have are friends like this. I want to move forward, but I keep looking back. Sometimes we seem so far from where we want to be, but the one thing we must accept is that if we want to change our lives then we must be ready to embrace the changes that…
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Will you follow Christ at all costs?
How far are you willing to go for Christ? How much hurt will you endure for doing right? Will you follow Christ at all costs? Being a follower of Christ, or being a Christian, comes along with much more than prosperity and “name it and claim it.” Certainly, God is the best ever gift-giver, but walking with Him is about much more than walking in prosperity. Walking with Christ comes with a lot of pain, rejection, and hurts. It is imperative for us to take the time to study Him, His life, and His Word so that we have what it takes to follow Him at all costs. As we…
